tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62474727372031209302018-03-05T08:26:23.968-08:00Mediocre Mushbook-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-91590013468765410482016-03-06T12:47:00.000-08:002016-03-06T12:47:18.953-08:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Operation Solo : The FBI's Man In The Kremlin</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by John Barron&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">According to the back flap of <i><b>Operation Solo</b></i>, it is considered America's greatest spy story. Perhaps. I certainly have never heard of it prior to reading about it. I have read plenty of books about people spying on the Soviet Union and vice versa, but never about a man working for the FBI and gathering secrets on Russia. Morris Childs made fifty-two trips to the Soviet Union over a period of twenty-seven years. The Russians considered him a friend and often asked for his advice. They never knew who he was actually working for. Sound like a good story? I certainly thought so but it was, at times, tedious to read, dry, and plodding. There's a wealth of fascinating information here. I think it could have been much better with a different author. This is probably why he had trouble finding a publisher. If you're interested in reading about spies, go for it.</span> </span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-4502115022988414272015-11-23T19:05:00.000-08:002015-11-23T19:05:30.149-08:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Killing A King : The Assassination Of Yitzhak Rabin And The Remaking Of Israel</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Dan Ephron</span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><b> </b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">On November 4, 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot in a Tel Aviv parking lot. It happened at the end of a peace rally. Yigal Amir had pulled the trigger, a Jew, not an Arab. Amir was furious with the Oslo Accord (Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Rabin agreed to a conciliation between the Arabs and the Jews) and felt that Rabin had betrayed Israel and its people. Amir had stalked Rabin for months and yet the agency that was supposed to protect Rabin missed many clues. It was a huge security blunder.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Rabin died and Amir went to prison for life.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Author Dan Ephron is supposed to be an award-winning writer (this is what is printed on the back flap under his photo), but I beg to differ. He is an investigative reporter, so you get a lot of detail, not all of it scintillating. Some sections are really deadening. Ephron was attempting to be fair-minded in his writing, but there is definitely a bias here.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">The book is interesting enough to read about the Middle East process and all that Israel has gone through.</span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-66589496576726341752015-03-06T10:04:00.000-08:002015-03-06T10:04:45.133-08:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The Sound Of Music Story : How A Beguiling Young Novice, A Handsome Austrian Captain, And Ten Singing Von Trapp Children Inspired The Most Beloved Film Of All Time</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Tom Santopietro</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Having seen "The Sound of Music" so many times, I really thought that a book about making the movie would be very interesting. At times, it was. There's plenty of fascinating trivia, too. But, there's too much information that's really not necessary and then it becomes endless filler. The author writes about what happens to everybody in their lives that was involved with the film</span></span> after the fact: the director, the screenwriter, the costume designer, the editor, all of the actors, and the von Trapps. It became deadening and the author's prose is quite dry. Because of this book, though, I became fascinated with the von Trapp family and wanted to know more about them. They were not too happy with the film, because it took too many liberties and what was portrayed was not even true. There's another movie that came out before "The Sound of Music" in German (you can watch it on YouTube with English subtitles) that is much more realistic of the von Trapps.<br />If you're an absolute fan, you will love this book. For the rest of us, it can be skipped.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-27281190509171754662014-07-22T10:47:00.001-07:002014-07-22T10:47:56.114-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The Map Thief : The Gripping Story Of An Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps</b></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #38761d;">by Michael Blanding</span><b> </b></span><br /><br />I'm amazed that I read this book from the beginning to the end, because I almost stopped reading it midway through. The style of writing was boring and bland (how appropriate that the latter word is part of the author's last name). <span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1000330214">I disagree with the subtitle, because it's certainly not gripping or riveting as reviewers from several websites have stated.</span></span><br /><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1000330214">The book really needs a proofreader. I started writing down all of the errors that I saw beginning with Chapter 8. There were missing and misspelled words, words out of place, etc. (I e-mailed the author to let him know and he was quite grateful.)</span></span><br /><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1000330214">Although there's quite a bit of interesting information concerning the history of antique maps, it can be deadening to the casual reader. If you're a map collector, then this book is definitely something that you should read. For the rest of us, it's ho-hum. </span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-37188102468844920962013-09-08T18:42:00.001-07:002013-09-08T18:42:13.633-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Pilgrim's Wilderness : A True Story Of Faith And Madness On The Alaska Frontier</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Tom Kizzia</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">One day in the winter of 2002, a family showed up in a town called McCarthy which was an isolated area in Alaska. The father calling himself Papa Pilgrim had his wife and fifteen children with him. To the residents, they thought that the family were pious, very religious, and industrious. At first, they were welcomed. But then when they bulldozed a road illegally through the mountains, the family was at war with the National Park Service.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">This is a very disturbing story about a man who had a dark side and used it against his family. Many parts are difficult to read. Some sections of the book, though, can be quite dry and boring when the author writes about the politics of the area and goes into long chapters about the government, the land, the infighting.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">I wouldn't call the book riveting, a masterpiece, eloquent as other reviewers have. It does keep your interest for the most part. </span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-92146731397276578672013-09-04T14:47:00.001-07:002013-09-04T14:47:03.221-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Etched In Sand : A True Story Of Five Siblings Who Survived An Unspeakable Childhood On Long Island</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Regina Calcaterra</span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><b> </b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Regina Calcaterra along with her four siblings had a horrific childhood. They spent most of it in either foster homes or on the streets living in abandoned houses. When there were no abodes available, they slept in the car. Their mother was an alcoholic who would disappear for weeks and sometimes months and the children had to fend for themselves. When she would return, they dreaded it. If she was in a bad mood, the beatings were heinous. They learned to rely on one another to survive.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">The reason I decided to put my review on this particular blog had nothing to do with the subject matter. I have never read anything before like what these siblings went through and it's certainly an eye-opener. Much of what is written in this book is repetitive, though.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">What I want to point out is that the true author of this book is not Regina Calcaterra. She used a ghostwriter named Kristine Gasbarre and in the Acknowledgements, Calcaterra gives her credit for writing her thoughts and memories exactly how she would have done it. Calcaterra calls her a co-writer so </span><b></b></span>then Gasbarre's name should be on the front cover. If you doubt this, check out Gasbarre's book, "How to Love an American Man" and read the excerpt on the Barnes &amp; Noble website. The style is IDENTICAL to <i>Etched in Sand</i> and this is why it was so readable. book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-4695645386643930812013-07-14T19:28:00.000-07:002013-09-04T14:21:25.575-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Mary And Lou And Rhoda And Ted : And All The Brilliant Minds Who Made <i>The</i> <i>Mary Tyler Moore Show</i></b></span> <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>A Classic</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong </span><br /><br />In 1970, writer-producers James L. Brooks and Allan Burns came up with an idea for a show about a divorced woman who had a career. The executives at CBS were not buying it. <i>Time</i> thought it would be a disaster and would never last. <i>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</i> proved everybody wrong.<i> </i>It became a classic that changed many lives and inspired so many women.<br />If you're a die-hard fan of this show (you can watch the first three seasons for free on www.Hulu.com), this is the book for you. You learn about the scripts, the women who wrote the sketches, the characters, the actors who all bonded very quickly with one another, the very creative minds of Brooks and Burns.<br />The first part of the book is very funny; the middle not so much; and the end, not at all. Some parts become repetitious with filler that is not needed. Every nuance and aspect of the show is written here. I couldn't wait to finish and I almost stopped reading it altogether but plowed on.<br />There's a great bit of interesting trivia here and much of the information is quite interesting. But I think the appeal is really for anybody who watched every episode and made an impact on them.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-42124476300573975552013-05-14T13:03:00.002-07:002013-05-14T13:03:58.290-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir Of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, And The Power Of Family</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Josh Hanagarne </span><br /><br />At the age of four, Josh Hanagarne started twitching and was not conscious of it. His parents certainly were, though. As he got older, the tics increased and manifested themselves in all different, annoying ways. Josh tried everything to help deal with these symptoms but nothing really worked. It wasn't until he took up weight lifting that he was able to somewhat push the tics into a corner for longer periods of time.<br />The first two thirds of the book is pretty interesting. Josh writes about his parents, his childhood growing up Mormon. finally getting a diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome and learning what to do about it, becoming a librarian at the Salt Lake City Public Library. When it came to his keen interest in strength training, the book came to a screeching halt. It's very boring and the worst part is when Josh meets up with a bizaare former Air Force Tech Sargeant who served in Iraq. This guy helps him overcome the tics but the conversation between them is ridiculous and hard to comprehend. At times, Josh doesn't know what this guy is talking about. (Trust me; you won't either.) Obviously, the book needed filler but this last part is a real turn-off.<br />Josh's writing is pretty good and funny especially when he talks about the eccentrics who come to the library.<br />The book is okay but not great.<br /><br />book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-68947414046545479242013-04-20T14:36:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:33:57.426-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The Black Russian&nbsp;</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Vladimir Alexandrov<b> </b></span><br /><br />Frederick Bruce Thomas was born in 1872 to former slaves. His parents were able to acquire land and became quite prosperous farmers in Mississippi. They did well for several years until they were fleeced by a rich white man who tried to steal their property. The family lost everything and were forced to leave for Memphis where they ran a boardinghouse. After the murder of Frederick's father by a mentally unstable lodger, Frederick decided to get out of the South and worked as a waiter and a valet in Chicago and Brooklyn. Eventually he would go to London and France where Blacks were treated much better than in the United States. By the time 1899 rolled around, Frederick was in Russia. He would stay in Moscow for the next twenty years. Frederick gave himself a Russian name (Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas), married twice, had several children, and become a Russian citizen. He made his living and a fortune by owning variety theaters and restaurants. The Bolshevik Revolution wiped him clean and he escaped with his family (barely) to Constantinople in 1919. Frederick started from scratch and became rich again by having nightclubs that played jazz (a new kind of music) in Turkey.<br />Sound like an interesting story? I thought so. The first part of the book was really interesting and absorbing. By the middle, it started to sag and I was hard-pressed to continue reading. The last 90 pages were excruciating. There's not a whole lot of information on Frederick Bruce Thomas (no writings, no papers) so much of what is written here is conjecture. Thomas constantly reinvented himself and exaggerated events that may not have even happened. It's certainly admirable that he was able to create this wonderful life for himself. His work ethic came from his parents. Since there is not much about him, the book has plenty of chapters on the history of Russia and Turkey and this filler can become interminable. You don't really get a sense of who Frederick Bruce Thomas really was because the writing is just not that engaging.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-75527879024826450602013-04-20T14:04:00.001-07:002013-04-20T19:32:18.773-07:00book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-40974661838801019462013-04-02T13:51:00.001-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.142-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>My Mother's Wars</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Lillian Faderman</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Mary (the name she is given in America) came to the United States, in 1914, at the age of seventeen from Latvia. She was sponsored by her sister and brother-in-law and lived with them for a while. Mary's goal is to be a dancer but that is not practical so she works in the New York Garment District with squalid conditions and measly pay. Bored with her life at home, she goes dancing every night with a friend from work. Her brother-in-law is scandalized by her behavior and kicks her out.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">When Mary is thirty-five and still barely making ends meet, she falls in love with a man who is ten years younger than her. Marriage is what she wants but that will never happen (he's got a girl in every port). While her romance is going on, Mary frets about the rest of her family still in Latvia where the storm troopers and Hitler are moving towards. She wants to get them out but doesn't have the amount of money that is needed to do that monumental task.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Lillian Faderman (the name should actually be spelled as Federman) wrote her mother's story because Mary was illiterate in both reading and writing English. It's a quick read (three days for me) and interesting enough but they style is not very good and she just replicates what her mother told her even though, apparently, Lillian did historical research.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">The most annoying thing about the book is the extensive, over-the-top use of similes. I almost quit reading early on because of them but decided to grin and bear it and finish to the end. </span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">&nbsp;</span> </span><br /><br /><br />book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-38125702563882068702013-03-29T19:03:00.001-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.139-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Where The Peacocks Sing : A Palace, A Prince, And The Search For Home</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Alison Singh Gee </span><br /><br />Alison Gee (a Chinese-American) was an entertainment writer for <i>AsiaWeek</i> living in Hong Kong. She meets Ajay Singh, a journalist from India and they fall in love. Her lifestyle is hectic running all over the place, dealing with deadlines, going to parties, never relaxing. They travel to India so that Alison can meet his family. It turns out that Ajay grew up in a palace but it has deteriorated. Virtually no plumbing, plaster falling off, peacocks screeching (they're actually singing), not the most friendly relatives makes the stay very uncomfortable. They plan to get married but Alison has to come to terms with this new culture and figure out how she can possibly fit in.<br />This book has had many positive reviews with people saying that the writing is gorgeous, an absolute delight, wonderful, riveting read, etc. I disagree. Alison writes like a reporter and throws in way too many similes. There's really not much substance here; it's mostly fluff. Alison seems quite naive and shallow. Some of the stuff that she writes about India is interesting such as the Taj Mahal and the village Mokimpur and its inhabitants. I sloughed through and was happy when I finished.<br />This is the kind of book to take on a vacation; it's a light read that can be passed around to others.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-57837094351351870232013-02-08T13:35:00.000-08:002013-04-20T19:37:35.143-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>ANTONIA And Her Daughters : Secrets, Love, Friendship and Family In Tuscany</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Marlena de Blasi<b> </b></span><br /><br />Marlena de Blasi has written four previous books on living and cooking in Italy. She and her husband, Fernando, have recently moved and their new place is being renovated. It's too noisy to write amongst all of the contractors so Marlena decides that she needs solitude and ends up living in a small one-room house in the woods of western Tuscany. It's in this environment that she meets Antonia who at eighty-two is still beautiful, vibrant, and forceful. The two of them clash, at first, and then become friends. Antonia is the matriarch of four generations of gorgeous, blue-eyed women who each have their own story to tell. But it is Antonia who has hidden secrets that the family doesn't know about and over time, she reveals them to Marlena.<br />Having read four of de Blasi's previous works on Tuscany, I eagerly jumped on this book. Her writing is always lush with descriptions of the countryside, the people, the culture. When she talks about food and cooking, you just salivate (recipes are always included). <i><b>Antonia and Her Daughters</b></i> includes this stuff but the bulk of the book is about Antonia. It was a disappointment and doesn't come close to her others. The story drags on and many times, I almost quit reading but I continued as I wanted to see what happened and how the book would end. Much of what is written is repetitious concerning Tuscany, the food, etc., so there's much padding (filler).<br />I'm sure that many people would enjoy reading this book especially if they're a fan of de Blasi's and Tuscany.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-87676888707185868112012-10-13T15:06:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.152-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The End Of Your Life Book Club</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Will Schwalbe</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">In 2007, Mary Anne Schwalbe was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She had just returned from a humanitarian trip to Afghanistan and didn't feel so great. The doctors first thought it was hepatitis. Not knowing how much longer she had to live, Will Schwalbe (her son) started a "book club" with just the two of them. They both were avid readers and would discuss the books when they were done.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Mary Anne had an amazing life. So many people idolized her for what she did for them. She didn't let her illness and pain stop her from continuing to travel and help others less fortunate.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">I almost didn't finish the book. It started out well enough but then I thought it became tedious and boring. The writing isn't that great. I think the author should just stick to editing other published books and not write anything else.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">Many reviews have been quite positive with five stars. I wouldn't give it that; more like two.&nbsp;</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>&nbsp;</b></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-61237099687543110722012-08-31T19:21:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.145-07:00<span style="color: #274e13;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">&nbsp;Treacherous Beauty : Peggy Shippen, The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot To Betray America</span></b></span><br /><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="color: #38761d;">by Mark Jacobs and Stephen H. Case </span></span><br /><br />Peggy Shippen was born in Philadelphia in 1760. Her family was quite wealthy and they lived in the best neighborhood (Society Hill). Peggy became quite the society girl. Men were infatuated with her calling her the most beautiful woman in North America. But she was not dumb. She was quite savvy with finances and had a clear-eyed view of both political and social situations. When it came to marriage, though, Peggy was not so astute. She fell in love with a scoundrel: her husband was Benedict Arnold. Peggy joined Arnold in a treasonous plot and was able to convince George Washington and other high-ranking men of her innocence.<br />The authors believe that she was the instigator but there is no concrete evidence. All of her papers were destroyed so it's just conjecture. Most of the book, actually, is about Arnold and the fighting between the British and the Americans. There's some interesting trivia about the Shippens and Philadelphia. Several times, I almost stopped reading it because the writing is extremely dry. But I continued with the book because it is the only nonfiction ever written about Peggy Shippen and I thought I would learn something. If you like stuff on the American Revolution, give this a try.<br /><br />book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-68111882797248900702012-08-06T08:51:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.146-07:00<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The Little Red Guard : A Family Memoir</b></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Wenguang Huang </span><br /><br />As Wenguang Huang was growing up in Xian, China, his entire family was obsessed with the proper burial of the grandmother. She thought that she would die relatively early but she lived longer than anybody thought. Wenguang's father built her a coffin and it stayed inside the house for fifteen years. She didn't want to be cremated which was the traditional practice in China and hoped to be buried in her home village.<br />The most interesting parts of this book are reading about China under Mao, being a Communist Party member, and China today. Unfortunately, Wenguang doesn't write very cohesively and he jumps around with different time periods all at the same time. There's also problems with misspellings, misplaced words, and missing punctuation.<br />Wenguang is a translator and I think that he should just stick to that profession and forget about doing any more writing.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-39158503376575959472012-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.141-07:00<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Yes, Chef</span></b><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by Marcus Samuelsson </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Marcus Samuelsson was originally born in Ethiopia. When he was three, he contracted tuberculosis along with his sister and his mother. They walked seventy-five miles (Marcus was on his mother's back) to reach Addis Adaba for a hospital to treat all of them. Marcus and his sister survived but their mother died. The two of them would go into an orphanage and one year later be adopted by a Swedish family. Marcus thought that he would become a professional soccer player but he was considered too small. Instead, inspired by his grandmother's cooking, his passion for food would sustain him for the rest of his life. He went to cooking school and then apprenticed at restaurants in Switzerland and in France. Marcus ended up in New York and eventually opened up his own restaurant in Harlem.</span><br /><span style="color: black;">There are so many cooking memoirs that are quite good but I can't say that about this book. I found the writing to be lacking in warmth and just stating facts. Marcus is not the true author because he used a ghost writer and it shows. He should just stick to cooking. </span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-15743343022567268842012-05-07T18:51:00.004-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.134-07:00<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Lady Almina And The Real Downton Abbey : The Lost Legacy Of Highclere Castle</span></b><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">by The Countess of Carnarvon </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">At the age of nineteen, Almina Wombwell married George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon in 1895. The marriage took place on the Earl's twenty-ninth birthday. He had grand estates, magnificent paintings and beautiful furniture. The Earl was born into aristocracy. Almina, on the other hand, was from quite a different background. Her mother was French and her father was Alfred de Rothschild. Almina was illegitimate but her father's wealth protected her and it bought social acceptance and respectability.</span><br /><span style="color: black;">After their honeymoon, they moved to Highclere Castle which was the family home of the Earls of Carnarvon.</span><br /><span style="color: black;">Having never seen the PBS show, <i>Downton Abbey</i> </span>that people have raved about, I was curious about this book. Parts of it are quite interesting and most of it is not. You don't get a sense of what Almina was really like. Her character was not quite fleshed out. Most of the book centers on World War I.<br />There's way too much filler and not enough substance.<br />I did read the entire book but it did nothing for me.book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-77909454707252933652012-04-02T07:05:00.002-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.147-07:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juliette Gordon Low : The Remarkable Founder Of The Girl Scouts<br /></span>by Stacy A. Cordery<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Juliette Gordon Low was born during the Civil War. She grew up in Savannah where education, culture and duty was stressed. Juliette, known as Daisy, was extremely extroverted and very popular in school. She was quite talented in art: painting, sculpture, illustration, to name a few. Daisy also excelled in shooting, fishing, hiking, building campfires (all of these attributes would be used in her future).<br />She would marry a man named William Mackay Low (her parents did not like him), an aristocratic Englishman who inherited his father's wealth. He ended up being quite a louse and she planned to divorce him, but he died before that happened.<br />Daisy could not ever sit still and wanted to do something that had some kind of purpose. When she met Robert Baden-Powell, in Britain (who created the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides), she knew that she had found her calling. Returning to the United States, Daisy would, single-handedly, form the Girl Scouts and led the organization for eight years.<br />The best part of this book is the first two thirds when you read about Daisy's life, her struggles with her health (she had hearing loss), her personality, her strengths, her joie de vivre. Ironically, as soon as the Girl Scouts materialized, the writing became plodding and boring with too many statistics and names. I thought about not continuing because it was driving me crazy, but finished it anyway. Even the ending is flat.<br />I had recommended the book to a friend early on before I had hit the uninteresting parts. I almost feel guilty since the latter section is just awful.<br />The author is a history professor so there's an inordinate amount of details that you have to slough through and that is what drags this book down, which is unfortunate.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-80902761641360763532012-02-25T12:02:00.002-08:002013-04-20T19:37:35.151-07:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Unorthodox : The Scandalous Rejection Of My Hasidic Roots<br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">by Deborah Feldman<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Deborah Feldman grew up in a very strict environment within</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> the Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism. Her mother abandoned her as a baby and since the father was mentally disabled, he couldn't take care of Deborah either. So, her extremely religious grandparents, Bubby and Zeidy, raised her with tons of rules. As Deborah grew up, she started to think independently and would secretly go off to the public library and read literature that would have been frowned on by her community. She brought these books home and hid them under her mattress.<br />When Deborah was seventeen, she was married off to a man that she had only met and talked to for thirty minutes before they became engaged. Needless to say, the marriage was fraught with problems and overwhelming anxiety. Two years later, Deborah had a child. Dealing with a baby at so young an age, a husband who was hardly around who didn't really care about his wife, and feeling like she was drowning with no support from anyone in the family, Deborah began to plot her future to leave her oppressive surroundings.<br />The subtitle of this book is very misleading. Deborah did not reject her Hasidic roots until she left at the age of twenty-three. When she talks about her childhood, she speaks lovingly of her grandparents and how well they treated her. She was happy then.<br />Although Deborah writes well, there's not much to get excited about. The ending was flat and there's many questions that she left unanswered.<br />Parts of the book were interesting but she's a contradiction. She couldn't wait to get away from the nosiness and gossip but then she starts a blog and broadcasts everything that happened to her including intimate details.<br />Photographs are included. The last one is of Deborah sitting on a bench in skin-tight blue jeans smoking a cigarette.<br />Many people can't wait to get their hands on this book: there are over 80 requests at the library. They should go on the Internet and look up what is being said about what she wrote. Apparently, most of it is lies.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"></span></span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-24725084187639352332011-05-11T08:09:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.137-07:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lost In Shangri-La : A True Story Of Survival, Adventure, And The Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II<br /></span>by Mitchell Zuckoff<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);">On May 13, 1945, twenty-four American soldiers and WACs (Women's Army Corps)</span> were taking a leisurely flight over the mountains of Dutch New Guinea when it crashed. Twenty-eight people were aboard and three survived. They landed in a jungle known to be swarming with headhunters who had never seen white men before. The two men and one woman who crawled from the burning plane had no idea how they were going to get out of their environs. Two of them were severely injured with horrible burns.<br />Back at the base camp, a rescue mission was being developed. It was very tricky due to the rough terrain. Eventually, it was decided that paratroopers would be used.<br />Sound like an exciting story? It was, at first. Unfortunately, there was a lot of repetition and too much filler. The tale could have been oh so very exciting, but it became oh so dry. I certainly was not on the end of my seat as some of the other reviewers have recalled. In better hands, this book could have been tremendous. The author has written several other stories and I bet that they're all equally ho-hum.<br />If you're a World War II fan and you enjoy reading about plane crashes and survival, you would probably enjoy this book. As for me, it was nothing great and nothing special.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-34879177177918061902011-04-24T07:22:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.138-07:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Women Jefferson Loved<br /></span>by Virginia Scharff<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thomas Jefferson always preferred to keep his public and private lives separate from peering eyes. His personal life is what has always intrigued the masses mostly because of Sally Hemmings. It seems to be split down the middle with those who believe that he was involved with her and those who do not even though there's credible evidence since he bore children with her.<br />The women close to him were: Jane Randolph, his mother; Martha, his wife; Sally Hemmings, his slave mistress; his daughters and granddaughters. Even though Jefferson loved the women so much in his family, he was still very traditional and believed that their purpose was to just be domestic and procreate. With the exception of Sally, they were all highly educated and cultured.<br />What I found interesting was that most of the women abhorred slavery yet without them they could not exist down to the most minutest details. They all intermingled with one another from morning to night. So, they were separated by race but they were related by blood.<br />At the beginning of the book, there's quite a large family tree which is confusing enough. At the end of the book, the names are grouped by specific families and it's even more mind-boggling.<br />Author, Virginia Scharff, writes in a very easygoing style and though I don't think it's "brilliantly written" as some reviewers believe, it's definitely palatable.<br />If you're a Jefferson fan, you would enjoy the read. As for me, not having known the history of what exactly transpired between Jefferson and Hemmings, those parts were fascinating. But there's way too much repetition and conjecture (this is what happens when a historian attempts to compile facts) which ruined it, I thought.<br />I sum the book up as being okay but nothing special.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6247472737203120930.post-79530914111085111402011-04-02T14:26:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:37:35.149-07:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage<br /></span>by Sally Ryder Brady<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 204, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">Although there were many clues about Upton's sexuality from the time they met and all through their marriage, Sally Ryder either was in denial or was just plain stupid. She thought the world of this man even though he was an alcoholic, had a horrible temper, was a narcissist and was very controlling. Upton Brady became the director of Atlantic Monthly Press and the family lived in high style and most of it wasn't too happy.<br />After he died (forty-six years of marriage), Sally was SHOCKED to find gay pornography in his bureau. Her reaction is ridiculous since all of the signs were there. I probably should have stopped reading at this point because Sally was extremely irritating but I decided to continue and finish the book, which I did. She writes well and it does keep your interest.<br />The publisher says that it's a story of great love. Not exactly.<br />Read it, if you'd like, and see if you agree.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>book-a-holichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15329255622933795546noreply@blogger.com0